“The high citizenship take-up rate is a mark of the success of the citizenship focused model of Australian multiculturalism,” said immigration and citizenship minister Chris Bowen.

“This number continues to increase as more migrants choose to make their home here and seek to become fully-fledged members of the Australian family.”

A record 71,662 applicants from more than 196 countries took the citizenship test in 2011-12, up almost 20 per cent on last year’s figure of 59,787.

More than 90 per cent of people in the humanitarian program passed the test, a rise of five per cent since the introduction of courses and tuition for disadvantaged migrants.

The top five countries of birth for migrants who took the test are the United Kingdom (16.6 per cent), India (13.9 per cent), China (10.1 per cent), the Philippines (6.1 per cent) and South Africa (5.1 per cent).